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Sustainability
Volume 11
Issue 8
10.3390/su11082276
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Article

Carbon Footprint Estimation in Road Construction: La Abundancia–Florencia Case Study

by
Marianela Espinoza
1,
Noelia Campos
1,
Rebekah Yang
2,
Hasan Ozer
2,
José P. Aguiar-Moya
1,*,
Alejandra Baldi
1,
Luis G. Loría-Salazar
1 and
Imad L. Al-Qadi
2,3
1
National Laboratory of Materials and Structural Models, University of Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica
2
Transportation Engineering Solutions and Technologies, Inc., Champaign, IL 61822, USA
3
Illinois Center for Transportation University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, IL 61822, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2019, 11(8), 2276; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082276
Submission received: 28 January 2019 / Revised: 7 March 2019 / Accepted: 14 March 2019 / Published: 16 April 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Infrastructure Materials and Systems)
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Abstract

The environmental impact of road construction and rehabilitation can be associated with the increase of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are highly related to climate change. Consequently, departments of transportation have recently focused on the development and implementation of tools to evaluate the performance of projects and minimize GHG emissions. An example is the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) to analyze and quantify the environmental impact of a product, system, or process, from cradle to grave. In this regard, the present case study quantifies the carbon footprint associated with the construction of the La Abundancia–Florencia highway, located in the province of San Carlos in Costa Rica. The analysis is also intended to generate consciousness both in the public and private sectors on the environmental impacts of road construction. After an LCA study, it was determined that the construction of the hot mix asphalt (HMA) layer generates a carbon footprint of 65.8 kg of CO2e per km of road. In addition, it was evident that HMA production generates the greatest environmental impact, among all the considered LCA production and construction stages, with a GHG contribution of 38% to 39% from bitumen only. Consequently, special attention to HMA production is required in order to minimize GHG emissions.
Keywords: carbon footprint; GHG; life cycle analysis; emissions; road; asphalt mixtures carbon footprint; GHG; life cycle analysis; emissions; road; asphalt mixtures

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MDPI and ACS Style

Espinoza, M.; Campos, N.; Yang, R.; Ozer, H.; Aguiar-Moya, J.P.; Baldi, A.; Loría-Salazar, L.G.; Al-Qadi, I.L. Carbon Footprint Estimation in Road Construction: La Abundancia–Florencia Case Study. Sustainability 2019, 11, 2276. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082276

AMA Style

Espinoza M, Campos N, Yang R, Ozer H, Aguiar-Moya JP, Baldi A, Loría-Salazar LG, Al-Qadi IL. Carbon Footprint Estimation in Road Construction: La Abundancia–Florencia Case Study. Sustainability. 2019; 11(8):2276. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082276

Chicago/Turabian Style

Espinoza, Marianela, Noelia Campos, Rebekah Yang, Hasan Ozer, José P. Aguiar-Moya, Alejandra Baldi, Luis G. Loría-Salazar, and Imad L. Al-Qadi. 2019. "Carbon Footprint Estimation in Road Construction: La Abundancia–Florencia Case Study" Sustainability 11, no. 8: 2276. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082276

APA Style

Espinoza, M., Campos, N., Yang, R., Ozer, H., Aguiar-Moya, J. P., Baldi, A., Loría-Salazar, L. G., & Al-Qadi, I. L. (2019). Carbon Footprint Estimation in Road Construction: La Abundancia–Florencia Case Study. Sustainability, 11(8), 2276. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082276

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